Green Fringe Lark - Epalzeorhynchos frenatum

The Green Fringed Lipper with the scientific name Epalzeorhynchos frenatum from the north of Thailand and China is sometimes called Labeo frenatus in older literature. This beautiful aquarium fish lives in rivers in nature and belongs to the carp family. With a body length up to 25 cm, this beautiful gregarious algae eater is a great ornamental fish for large tanks. The Green Fringe Lipper can reach an age of up to 10 years.

The body of the Green Fringe Lipper is dark olive green, with a large black spot at the base of the tail in many specimens. A longitudinal black stripe runs through the eye on the head. All fins are bright red in the Green Fringed Lipper, and in the male the anal fin is fringed with black. Males of Epalzeorhynchos frenatum are more slender than the fatter females, and their dorsal fin tapers to a point at the rear. The underslung carp-typical scraper mouth of the Green Fringe Lipper shows the typical barbels.

The Green Fringe Lipper is unfortunately still considered by many to be an aggressive loner - however, in sufficiently large, well planted tanks it is very sociable in a loose group and also less aggressive. If you keep it with only 2-3 conspecifics and the tank is too small, the fish actually becomes very territorial and quite rough.

Not much is known about breeding in the aquarium, except for accidental breedings not much seems to have succeeded at this point.

A group of Green Fringe Lips will feel comfortable in a nicely structured and densely planted aquarium with sufficient swimming space from 120 cm length. The light should not be overly bright. The aquarium fish likes to burrow for food in soft substrate, which corresponds to their natural behavior. Green Fringe Lips prefer soft to medium hard water and they like a water temperature of 22-28 °C.

With its scraping mouth, this omnivore eats algae coverings, but the Green Fringe Lipper also likes flake food or plant-based granulated food, but will also eat frozen food or live food. Hand feeding is possible, and the fish become quite trusting over time.

Epalzeorhynchos frenatum can be kept in a community tank with assertive larger fish. However, planar fish such as discus may be sucked in and injured as a result. Dwarf shrimps are eaten. Keeping them in an aquarium with medium-sized rather peacefully inclined crayfish can go well, but freshly released juvenile crayfish will certainly be eaten by large Green Fringe Lips.

Our food recommendation: The fragrant NatureHolic Guppyfeed was tailor-made for the needs of guppies and other mainly herbivorous fish in the aquarium. In addition to high-quality animal-based ingredients, it also contains plant-based components that benefit the animals. The soft granules protect the sensitive mouth of the viviparous from injuries caused by hard food grains and provide the fish with a natural feeding experience.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.